The Shattered Sky

The glittering Olympic Rings are hoisted into the air at Beijing's "Bird's Nest" stadium

I would think that anyone who saw the opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympic Games hosted in Beijing, China would have been completely blown away by the event. It was not only the amazing display of culture, but the sheer scale, effects and the coordination of so many participants!

China has a talent, and let me tell you what that talent is. It is not the amount of money they have to throw behind an event like this, nor is it their extremely impressive cultural heritage. What China’s talent is, is the ability to coordinate large masses of their people in perfect harmony. Every part of the opening ceremony was filled with masses of people drumming, dancing, running and performing other antics in complete synchronization. Even at points where the performers had no means whatsoever of seeing what the others were doing, the timing was flawless. I’m talking about the giant Movable Type printer – if you saw the ceremony you would know what I’m talking about.

Now unfortunately, most internet clips of the opening have been removed due to copyright claims. However, I did find the next best thing: A collage of still images set to the song “Sadness” by Enigma, created by the user “NewAgeEnlightenment” on YouTube. You can view this clip below.

This of course doesn’t show the true splendor of the event. You really need to catch a rerun if you haven’t seen it as yet. What I have to say though is that with this event China has shown the world not only the depth of its culture and its vast human and financial resources, but it has also told its critics to sit down and shut up.